AN: Okay, so this is kind of the filler chapter (I knew one of these was going to pop up eventually...) I don't usually enjoy writing this type of chapter just because they tend to be boring...but I suppose this one turned out okay. At least I don't loath it.

Whatever the case...I'm grateful for those of you who send reviews...thanks...

As always, enjoy.

Ashley Blake was her full name, as we found out in our attempts to find Jack and Will (we did eventually succeed…but that comes later). She was about as tall as me with mousy brown hair, heart shaped face, and bright brown eyes that could either be very shrewd or very kind.

I could tell the three of us were going to get along.

She was four years older than Meg and I, meaning she was twenty-one, but from what I could tell, she had lived the life of a fifty year old. Parents dead at seven, her older brother was left to care for them; because he was a merchant by trade, he came to Tortuga by accident and never quite left. His business was sinking fast by the time Ashley was eleven, and she was employed as a maid until just recently by a moderately nice family (very few of them existed in Tortuga). When her brother died less than a year ago at sea, Brigg had taken over her welfare under the pretense of a good friend. He was really just a creep.

Considering her situation, Ashley had grown up into a rather pleasant person; maybe a little cynical and sarcastic, but generally easy going and good-humored. This was good--I love sarcastic people.

"So tell me more about this captain of yours," she pried, her eyes lighting up slightly. I had a bad feeling that her vision of sea captains was slightly romanticized--not romantic, romanticized. There is a difference. Look it up if you don't know.

"He's a pain and a chauvinistic pig," I supplied. "His name is Jack Sparrow, but make sure to always call him Captain Sparrow, or he'll chew your head off."

"He had no sense of personal hygiene," added Meg with a sniffle.

"Or personal space, for that matter."

"He has no problem with kidnapping innocent bystanders."

"And he has an unhealthy obsession with his ship."

"Is that enough information?" ended Meg with a smile at Ashley.

Ashley was frowning, either from disappointment or disturbance, I couldn't tell. "Oh, yes, that was plenty helpful." (Please note sarcasm. I'm serious when I say she's sarcastic…) After a pause, she started asking more specific questions. Once again, we weren't particularly informative...or kind.

"How old is he?"

"Older than us. Practically a grandpa."

"Probably late thirties," I added after a pause, trying to be a little useful.

"What does he look like?"

"Dirty. And drunk. But if you want specifics, he has brown eyes, tan skin, and black hair that sticks out of his head like ropes." At Ashley's confused look, Meg clarified. "He has dreadlocks."

Ashley had the decency to look disgusted; another fellow human being who cared for their hygiene. Excellent.

"Is he…bloodthirsty?"

"Well…he hasn't killed us yet," I said, "and we have given him plenty of reasons to. So I suppose…not really. He's pretty cool as far as that goes."

"Cool?"

"Never mind. Lets just say Jack is kinder than most pirates. He's actually rescuing the fiancé of a friend right now."

"How are you connected with that?"

"Accident," answered Meg. "Pretty much, we were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Jack thought we might go tell someone about him. We really have no connection to anybody."

"Why don't you just leave him then?"

"Where are we going to go? And whatever happens to Jack is certainly more exciting than anything else happening around us, so we stick with Jack. And we like bugging him."

"We're the annoying little sisters to him and Will," was my comment. Meg and I high-fived.

"Whose Will?"

"The friend with the fiancé. He likes us better than Jack. He's also not as easily annoyed. Did we mention how irratible Captain Sparrow is?"

Ashley nodded. "Interesting. Very interesting. Now, where are these two men?"

"That is a good question," I said. We had wandered to the squalor of central Tortuga at this point, and I began to worry for Ashley's safety (Meg and I still looked like guys for our own sakes. Smart idea, right?), but then I remembered that she was very familiar with this scene in front of her, which was pretty much total chaos. I cringed at the thought of immersing myself in that…nastiness, but Ashley was way ahead of us, already entering the crowd with the hope of spotting some guy with really bad dreadlocks.

"He's supposed to be in a tavern, right?" I whispered to Meg. "We've been wandering around long enough for him to have found Gibbs. Right? I mean, I think I'm remembering the movie..."

Meg shrugged. "I would think so. Lets start some 'clubbing.'"

Clubbing. Yeah. I would never want to do any type of 'clubbing' here.

After catching up to Ashley, we started peeking into the various taverns. The first three were either empty or filled with total 'losers' as far as the pirating world would have been concerned, so we quickly decided that Jack wouldn't be caught dead in any of those places. That's when we spotted it. The Tavern.

I'm sure it had a name, but it seemed that the sign had been ripped down at one point, and I wasn't surprised. The place was rowdy, and dangerous. The place that I'm sure pro-wrestlers would think twice about going into.

"That's probably where he is," mumbled Meg, looking at the building with great distaste.

I sighed and nodded.

Ashley didn't look phased in the slightest. "Are we going in or what?"

We approached the door after avoiding multiple collisions with various individuals whom I had never seen before, nor did I want to see again, and entered.

Jack wasn't hard to spot: and contrary to what I think is popular belief, his table wasn't swarming with ladies. It was just him and Gibbs, and they seemed to be talking up a storm about nothing in particular. Poor Will was stuck by some post, standing in and amongst the less scrupulous of people.

Well, I am a pro at crashing, parties, no matter how small they may be. "Let's go introduce you to our dear friend Captain Jack Sparrow," I said, dragging Ashley behind me, and following after Meg, who was leading.

I wasn't sure how exactly we were going to explain to Jack that we had one more passenger along for the ride, but it turned out we didn't need to worry about it at all. In fact, he didn't even notice Ashley at first.

Actually, Will was the real reason. Went Meg stalked pass him, she grabbed his wrist and began pulling him along with us to Jack. "There is no reason you should be standing there all alone, you poor man. Don't worry, we're here to save you now."

"Where in the world have you two been? What are you wearing?" gasped Will. "I've been worried sick!"

No doubt a phrase he picked up from the two of us. Moving on.

"Why didn't you come looking for us?" I asked, a little insulted that while Meg and I were fighting for our lives (okay...not quite...whatever, we were in mortal danger with that fruitcake Brigg...). We were at Jack's table now.

"He wouldn't let me," accused Will, pointing a finger toward our dear pirate buddy.

"You didn't let Will come after us?" I snapped at Jack. "What were you thinking?"

That question didn't even need to be asked. I knew perfectly well what he had been thinking after one look at him. Jack had seen it as the perfect opportunity to get rid of us. I knew it.

So I smack him over the head, not too hard, but enough to get my message across. "You little weenie! First you force us to come with you, and then you try to abandon us in the worst possible place on the planet!"

"What happened to you? And your face?" interjected Will. He didn't appear as intent on abusing Jack as I did. Now, I had completely forgotten about my injuries, but now, at being reminded, I could feel how big all of them had swelled. I was covered, it seemed like, from head to toe. That fight had been more physical that I thought. But Will's mentioning my face brought on a whole new string of comments from Meg.

"Look what has happened to us! Look at our faces!" She shoved her own very close to Jack's so that he could get a good look at her cut, which was still oozing a little. "We have to defend ourselves against a maniac because Will wasn't allowed to come and save us. And I had to punch Lynn in the cheek in order to escape another group of morons that wouldn't leave us alone. We are severely injured and in pain due to you!"

"I think you are heaping blame on the wrong person. As I recall, it was the two of you who got lost," answered Jack darkly.

Gibbs sat there silently, taking in the situation. You would think a fellow like that would have something to say; but I suppose, in the long run, he really was only a 'filler' character.

Whatever, moving on.

"And I recall it being you who snuck off to who knows where during that whole 'bull incident' in the square! And I'm sure you saw that. Don't even talk to me Jack Sparrow!" Meg shrieked.

Jack opened his mouth, no doubt to correct Meg on his title, but then his eyes fell on Ashley. "Who is this fine lady?"

I noticed the change in tone immediately; instead of being sharp and snappy, Jack was suddenly very smooth sounding, almost like a purr. He liked Ashley…or at least the way Ashley looked.

Thankfully, she seemed less than impressed with him, a grimace already forming on her mouth. She was going to fit in perfectly with the two of us...the Three Amigos fighting against the evil pirate...mwhahaha...

"Ashley Blake," Meg supplied. "She's sailing with us to wherever we're going."

Jack's goofy smile was wiped away instantly. "What?"

"She's sailing with us," I repeated. "How many ways do I need to say that? We have a new passenger, we have picked up a new companion, a previously unknown individual will be--"

"Why are you sailing with us?" asked Jack. The question was directed at Ashley.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I just need to get away from here."

Despite the fact Jack was clearly 'checking her out,' he shook his head. "Sorry, luv, I have two too many problems on my ship as it is, and I can't seem to get rid of them. Adding a proper lady into the mix would not be a wise choice, no matter how...pleasent that lady might be."

At the answer Ashley's face visibly fell. "What? I promise I won't be any trouble. I'm not incompetent when it comes to sailing."

"I promise she won't be any trouble," I interjected.

"If you're saying this, then I know I need to worry," muttered Jack under his breath. "Well, Gibbs, we best be going to bed. Got an early day ahead of us tomorrow." He patted himself down, a frown forming on his face. "Don't suppose you have any spar change to pay for the drinks?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Nope."

Finally, a comment.

At this point Ashley had sat down and Meg was next to her, trying in vain to comfort her. Will was standing awkwardly behind them, clearly wanting to aid in some way for propriety's sake, but not sure of what to do. Jack, upon seeing the three of them, nestled up very close to Ashley. Creeper.

"Listen, luv, if it were any other situation or any other time, I would be glad to help you. But at the moment, nothing is…opportune enough to allow me to assist you to my full extent." His hands traveled around her waist in what could be seen as an awkward embrace, but I noticed right away what he was doing.

He had taken Ashley's purse.

"As it stands, if I happen to be in Tortuga again, I would be more than happy to help you in any way possible." Jack stood up suddenly, grinning. "Now, about paying for those drinks. I do recall having some spare coins in my clothes somewhere…"

He traveled off, leaving Ashley, Meg, and myself standing there as Gibbs and Will trailed after the pirate. For obvious reasons, Ashley didn't look much happier. "What am I to do?" she moaned. "I have no where to go but back to Brigg, and even if I had another way to leave, I hardly have enough money as it is--" with the comment, her hand went down to where her purse should have been, and her face screwed up into a horrified gasp. "Where's my pouch?"

"Jack took it," I said quietly, and both Ashley and Meg started; Meg looking particularly vehement. "But don't do anything yet. This might work to our advantage."

Meg looked skeptical. But Ashley--bless her heart--looked hopeful. "What was your idea?"

"Well, you see, Jack is choosing his crew tomorrow…"